On Dundas Square, at Yonge and Dundas, across from the Eaton Centre, there was another big stage and an African band Fojeba was playing hot African rhythms. Further south Professor Olaf Stevenson was using his chest of drawers, using everyday objects and even vegetables, to entertain the crowd. We headed further south, in search of some comfortable outdoor seating and some food and we ended up at Harbourfront, Toronto's waterfront entertainment district. We plunked ourselves down on an outside bench where we had a beautiful view of downtown Toronto's skyscrapers.

Once refreshed we started our trip home and headed eastwards. After the hustble and bustle of downtown I stopped off at one of my favourite places: Toronto's Eastern Beaches. A major beach volleyball tournament was going on and thousands of people were sunbathing, pick-nicking, swimming (the water quality of our beaches has improved substantially so people can swim in the water again), rollerblading, biking, walking their dogs. The Beaches are just a zoo on a beautiful Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and it's a perfect spot for people watching. One of the areas that often draws a crowd is a place where there are numerous large loose stones that people assemble into stone sculptures, or "inukshuks" as these sculptures are called by Native People. A young couple was going at it and they were balancing large odd-shaped stones precariously on top of one another, drawing an admiring crowd.

The 2 young people later pulled out a sign saying that they were making a living from building the stone sculptures, and indeed a few appreciating members of the crowd made some monetary contributions. While I was watching them, people sat down beside me on the bench, and it's just a normal every-day occurrence in Toronto to hear French, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi or Russian right around you. After a snooze on the bench by the water I headed further eastwards to a much quieter area of the Beaches and I strengthened myself before having to ride up the steep hill from the Beaches to our neighbourhood. I briefly sat on another bench and admired all the activities on the beach and then got on my bike to go home.

Although I sometimes still miss the mountains, (not surprising, coming from someone who's grown up in the Alps), I do love Toronto's waterfront, and it's fabulous being located on one of the Great Lakes. When I get to the Beaches, it's almost like being on an ocean, since you can't see the shoreline on the New York State side. It's such a relaxing, leisure-oriented place and it's perfect for people-watching. The whole neighbourhood has such a relaxed atmosphere to it, with the ecclectic shops and restaurants on Queen Street, that I call it "my little California".

By the waterfront itself, on any given day you could be watching beach volleyball players, kite-flyers, tennis players at the Kew Gardens Tennis Club, Lacrosse or occasionally even championship rowers, practicing their strokes. Recently I did a 50 km ride on my bike and I went all the way west past Harbourfront, to the CNE grounds, admiring the sailboat harbours, going as far west as the Sunnyside Beach Pavillon on Toronto's Western Beaches. I find the waterfront is the perfect place to restore inner balance after a hectic work week. Although I was unable to catch all the entertainment events going over the past few days in Toronto, overall it was a great weekend.

About The Author

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

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The story with photos is published at Travel and Transitions ? Insights and Reflections (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/insights/toronto_unlimited_street_festival.htm).